A Moral Evaluation of Child Labor in the Philippines in the Perspective of Immanuel Kant’s Second Formulation of Categorical Imperative- Formula of End Itself

Introduction Children are the prime movers of the country. They are very much endowed with so much potentialities in which may contribute for the betterment of the many. They are indeed really important in everybody’s life not only of their own family but also of their fellow human persons. Every person including the child must be respected and valued in virtue of his/her being a human person. Thus, children must and necessarily be treasured by valuing their own dignity as human persons capable of rationalizing for the betterment of the future. However, in the Philippines; most of the children in the past and even until now are being exploited in many different ways. Every child in this country is somehow is in the state of danger because the child may be abused at anytime, anywhere, and of anyone. Evidently, Philippines is a young country by which most of the people are composed of youth and/or children. By this, Philippines is very vulnerable to any forms of child exploitation. Similarly, one of the most evident forms of child exploitation in the Philippines is the child labor. Child labor is prevalent in the Philippine society. It should be noted that children are abused by forcing them to bare labor at their very young age. They are supposed to be in the classroom to learn and become educated but because of child labor they could be seen in many places working to earn a living. Because of child labor, it is evidently that children at their very young age are dehumanized. Their own inherent dignity has been taken away from them and thus makes children as objects of exploitation. Moreover, the researcher has decided to conduct a study on this matter to find out the reality of this phenomenon. The researcher wants to assess the morality of child labor in the Philippines and to see its moral implications to other moral agents. Through the aid of Immanuel Kant’s ethical concept, the researcher may find philosophical and moral basis of child labor. The philosophy of Kant particularly his Categorical Imperative and it second formulation- Formula of end itself- will be applied in the subject matter. Library research, internet surfing, journals, and other sources related to the study will be used to achieve the main objectives. By this, the study is reliable and substantial in nature. The substantiality of the study focuses on the child labor in the Philippines.

Body
The Categorical Imperative Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative clearly states that “act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” (Kant, 1964, p.88). By this very definition of categorical imperative, Kant contends that morality involves universality and necessity. That is, morality should be applicable to all, and the action must and necessarily be done. Kant distinguishes between two imperatives- categorical and hypothetical. The latter for Kant cannot be the standard of morality since it only applies to some and thus cannot be universalized. It comes to man’s selfish inclination since it is only a “necessary as a means to the attainment of something else that one wills” (Kant, 1964, p. 82) and therefore this cannot be accepted. On the one hand, categorical imperative derive from rational inclination where in reason is that which makes the categorical imperative universal. For Kant, categorical imperative is based on human reason because it must be “entirely a priori, since here we do not enjoy the advantage of having its reality given in experience and so if being obliged merely to explain, and not to establish, its possibility” (Kant, 1964, p. 87). This, however, does not mean that Kant totally rejected the consequence of any action to determine whether the action is morally right or wrong but he only...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...Schneider
Ethics 102
25 February 2015
Deontological Moral Theory: ImmanuelKant
Deontological moral theory is defined as the morally right thing to do is to do whatever is your duty. A scenario in which this theory could be used is the following: a close friend of yours dies. He has set aside $10 million to give to his favorite sports team, the New York Yankees. You promised him that you would give the money to the team because that was your friend’s last wish. Generous, but as you are walking to Yankee Stadium to give the money to George Steinbrenner (the owner) you see a sign that says, “World Food Program: need $10 million to save numerous villages in Africa”. You think about giving the money to the organization because that would be the utilitarian thing to do, to help out as many people as you possibly could, but is that the right thing to do when you promised you friend that you would give the money to the Yankees? You think to yourself, the Yankees don’t need the money, they are already a great baseball team have plenty of money from their owner. This money could save countless people from starvation. But you are obligated to give the money to the Yankees because that was your duty.
One of the best and well know philosopher’s of the Enlightenment is ImmanuelKant. Kant’s view on ethics was: it’s absolute, the duties or imperatives are not hypothetical, but categorical (Pojman and...

...publication, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, ImmanuelKant supplies his readers with a thesis that claims morality can be derived from the principle of the categorical imperative. The strongest argument to support his thesis is the difference between actions in accordance with duty and actions in accordance from duty. To setup his thesis, Kant first draws a distinction between empirical and "a priori" concepts. Empirical concepts are ideas we reach from our experiences in the world. On the other hand and in contrast, "a priori" concepts are ideas we reach as an end point of reasoning prior to or apart from any experience of how things occur in the world. Kant then claims that moral actions are supposed done for the reason of morality alone. This train of thought leads to the conclusion that an understanding of morality must be based on "a priori" concepts of reason. Truly moral ideas are then universally valid if and only if they are based on "a priori" concepts.
From this idea of "a priori" concepts, Kant begins his thesis with the notion that the only thing in the world that is a qualified good is the "good will", even if its efforts bring about a not necessarily good result. A "good will" is good because of the willing that is involved. Two main implications arise with this idea of the "good will". The first implication is...

...
ImmanuelKant
Categorical Imperative Approach
center850008549640Ethics and the Legal Environment1000000Ethics and the Legal Environment
ImmanuelKant was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia in 1724. He attended the Collegium Fridiricianum at eight years old where he was taught classicism. Then he went to the University of Konigsberg where he spent his career focusing on philosophy, mathematics, and physics. When his is father past away, Kant left the university and earned his living as a private tutor. In 1755 he returned to the University to receive his doctorate in 1756.
ImmanuelKant remained at the University teaching for 15 years. He received his tenure at the University in 1770, where he stayed for the next 27 years. In 1792 he was barred from teaching or writing on religious subjects do to his unorthodox approach in his teaching by King Fredrick William II. He returned to teaching after the king had passed away five years later. In his retirement he published a summary of his views on religion. ImmanuelKant passed away in 1804.
ImmanuelKant was widely known for his categorical imperative theory. Categorical imperative is how one determines one’s duty, what principles are proper, and which are not. Doing one’s duty for the sake of duty itself is better than simply acting in agreement with one’s...

...﻿
Immanuel Kant’s Moral Theory
Although Kant's moral theory makes many great points about fairness and equality, the negatives of the theory outweigh the positives. Kant’s moral theory would never be able to function in today’s society. His theory is based solely on always fulfilling your moral duty. Which would be impossible since once someone told a lie or showed emotion everything would fall apart. Due to the fact that everyone wouldn’t trust anyone anymore which wouldn’t end up well.
Deontology is defined as the theory of duty. Kant’s moral theory can be categorized as a deontological theory, due to his belief that you have a moral duty to fulfill (Kant 114). Kant believes that all people have intrinsic or inherent value. Which in simple terms mean that we as human beings are held to a higher standard; to know what is right and wrong (Kant 114). Kant states that there are only two principles for an action to be morally right. First, you must have done the action out of the motivation of good will. Kant defines good will as “To act out of duty, out of a concern and respect for the moral law”(Kant 114). Good will plays a very important role on assessing the moral worth of an action. Kant explains that you can’t just have good will for an action...

...Peter Huang
PHL 201 (5)
Dr. Marshall Osman
3 December 2012
Number 6
ImmanuelKant believed in utilitarianism, which is the moral philosophy that says we should act in such ways as to make the greatest number of people happy as possible. This is why he introduced the categorical imperative. As a moral law, it is a command that is unqualified and not dependent on any conditions or qualifications. In short, it tells us to act in such a way that we would want everyone else to act the same way.
In the circumstance where I am considering stealing a book when no one is looking, how would I decide whether the act is immoral or not? By using Kant’s categorical imperative, I first have to generalize my action. I have to wonder what would happen if everyone in the world did what I was doing would it begin to contradict itself. If everyone in the world was to steal a book when no one is looking, then there would be no point in selling books in the first place since no one in the world is willing to make a purchase. The book tells us that for Kant, this result is enough to show that the intended action is immoral and irrational.
On the other hand, if a certain scenario was to not contradict from generalization, you would then ask yourself if you are willing to live in a world where everyone did that particular act. For example, I see someone who is in dire need of help. The cost of helping this person is...

...﻿DROPBOX ASSIGNMENT 3
IMMANUELKANT AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO OUR STUDY OF BUSINESS ETHICS
MGMT 368 BUSINESS ETHICS
DONNELL WILLIAMS, JR.
ImmanuelKant was a German Philosopher who was born on April 22, 1724 in Kaliningrad, Russia. At age 16, he enrolled at the University of Konigsberg where he studied philosophy. Kant is best known for his work in the philosophy of ethics and metaphysics, but he made significant contributions to other disciplines. He made an important astronomical discovery, namely a discovery about the nature of the Earth's rotation, for which he won the Berlin Academy Prize in 1754. Kant developed his moral philosophy in three works: Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, and Metaphysics of Morals.
Immanuel Kant’s contribution to our study of business ethics is mainly noted in Chapter 4 of the textbook: Moral Duty, Rights, and Justice. Kent talks about the Categorical Imperative. Categorical imperatives are principles that are intrinsically valid; they are good in and of themselves; they must be obeyed by all, in all situations and circumstances, if our behavior is to observe the moral law. Kant stated that the moral means and ends can be applied to the categorical...

...Kant argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality he dubbed the "Categorical Imperative" (CI). Immorality thus involves a violation of the CI and is thereby irrational. This argument was based on his striking doctrine that a rational will must be regarded as autonomous, or free in the sense of being the author of the law that binds it.
The fundamental principle of morality  the CI  is none other than this law of an autonomous will. Thus, at the heart of Kant's moral philosophy is a conception of reason whose reach in practical affairs goes well beyond that of a Humean slave' to the passions. Moreover, it is the presence of this self-governing reason in each person that Kant thought offered decisive grounds for viewing each as possessed of equal worth and deserving of equal respect.
In Kant's terms, a good will is a will whose decisions are wholly determined by moral demands or as he refers to this, by the Moral Law
Kant's analysis of commonsense ideas begins with the thought that the only thing good without qualification is a good will'.
While the phrases he's good hearted', she's good natured' and she means well' are common, the good will' as Kant thinks of it is not the same as any of these ordinary notions. The idea of a good will is closer to the idea of a good person', or, more archaically, a person of good will'
The...

...ImmanuelKant Essay
Business Ethics
ImmanuelKant constantly stressed that we have a sense of duty that follows a law like characteristic, and in turn we are all autonomy individuals. We as human beings are self- law giving, and constantly seek to harmonize our realm of ends. Our realm of ends allows us to follow a universal law which will lead us to bettering each other through rational actions. However, rationality is decided through our reason, and our reason is to create happiness in the end. Many businesses these days have autonomic power and some exercise these powers to reach a realm of ends, but some do not. Firms like those on Wall Street made irrational decisions through their autonomic powers, which lead our economic into a spiraling recession. Although there are some organizations who fight for our realm of ends, and organizations like the Red Campaign show us this every day.
Kant speaks of the realm of ends as a final end, that we as humans should try to produce. The realm of ends is a product of our actions in everyday life. The decisions made by individuals all contribute to the realm of ends Kant speaks of. Human beings act on universal maxims that meet everyone else’s standards. In response to this action, humans then respect one another as rational beings. The big thing with the realm of ends, is that it promotes a universal goal to achieve “good” and happiness....